An Investigation of the Effectiveness of A Strobe Light As An Imminent Rear Warning Signal

Strobe lights have been used successfully in many transportation applications to increase conspicuity. It was hoped that a strobe signal could also be applied to more effectively warn distracted drivers of an unexpected rear end conflict. This "proof of concept study" used a 2 x 2 between-subjects design using thirty-three subjects (16 subjects in the strobe condition, 17 subjects in the no strobe condition) who were divided into two age groups: younger (25-35) and older (60-70). The driver unexpectedly encountered a stopped "surrogate" vehicle in the roadway (with or without a rear-facing strobe light) in a controlled on-road study at the Smart Road located at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). Results suggested that younger subjects' perception times improved as a result of being exposed to the strobe signal. Faster perception of the situation allowed more time to initiate a brake response. Older subjects perception and response times remained unchanged by the strobe signal. More severe initial steering rate and subjective responses indicated that the strobe conveyed a sense of urgency irrespective of age. Visual distraction of subjects proved difficult. Hence, the impact of the strobe on attracting the attention of a visually distracted driver to the stimulus could not be as fully investigated as originally hoped. The formulation of a more difficult distraction task was suggested for future research to truly assess the ability of the strobe light at alerting visually distracted drivers.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Industrial and Systems Engineering

Department dc:contributor.department

Industrial and Systems Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2000

Author dc:creator

• Schreiner, Lisa Marie

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Dingus, Thomas A.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Lee, Suzanne E.
• Kleiner, Brian M.

• Vehicles
• Rear signaling
• Reaction times
• Strobe signal
• Safety
• Strobe lights
• Rear end collisions
• Collision avoidance

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

etd-12012000-084911

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/35887